Page 154 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Croatia

152  CRO A TIA AREA B Y AREA

Dubrovnik Cable Car b Elaphite Islands
Dubrovačka žičara
Lower station, Petra Krešimira IV bb. Tel Map F6. * 2,000. g from
(020) 414 321. Open Feb, Mar & Nov: Dubrovnik. n Dubrovnik regional
9am–5pm daily; Apr & Oct: 9am–8pm tourist office (020) 324 999.
daily; May: 9am–9pm daily; Jun–Aug: Lying to the north of Dubrovnik,
9am–midnight daily; Sep: 9am–10pm the Elaphite Islands (Elafitski
daily; Dec & Jan: 9am–4pm daily. & otoci) can be reached from
∑ dubrovnikcablecar.com
Dubrovnik by motorboat. There
Destroyed in 1991, the cable car are several daily crossings. The
that connects Dubrovnik City islands were described by the
Walls and Mount Srđ is natural historian Pliny the Elder,
operational again. The who named them after the
route takes three and fallow deer then found here.
a half minutes, and Only three of the islands are
offers wonderful views. inhabited: Šipan, Lopud and
Koločep, while Jakljan is
Environs devoted to farming.
The interior at the church of St Dominic, The island of Lokrum, Characteristics common
inside the monastery 700 m (2,296 ft) across to the islands are the
the water from Dubrovnik, woods of maritime
R Dominican Monastery is a nature reserve. pines and cypresses in
Dominikanski samostan Bijeli fratri The first people to settle the uncultivated areas
Od sv. Dominika 4. Tel (020) 321 423. on the island were the and beautiful beaches and
Open May–Oct: 9am–6pm; Nov–Apr: Benedictines, who founded bays frequented by
9am–5pm. & an abbey here in 1023. pleasure boats. The
Building began in 1315 and it This was rebuilt in the A statue in the islands have long been
soon became clear that because 14th century, but later Arboretum in popular with the
of the size of the complex, the destroyed by the Trsteno aristocracy of Dubrovnik,
city walls would have to be earthquake of 1667. In who built villas here.
enlarged. The monastery 1859, Archduke Maximilian of Some islands had monasteries
was later rebuilt after the Habsburg built a palace here which were suppressed with
earthquake of 1667. and renovated the cloister which the arrival of French troops in
A long flight of steps with a later became the Natural 1808. Many of the churches
stone balustrade leads up to History Museum. date from the pre-Romanesque
the church. The door, the In Trsteno, 20 km (12 miles) period, but few, however, are
work of Bonino of Milan, is northwest of Dubrovnik, is an still intact.
decorated with a Romanesque Arboretum. This was begun in
statue of St Dominic. The 1502 in the park around a villa Koločep
interior has a wide single nave built by Ivan Gučetić. The park This is the nearest island to
and, hanging from the central has the layout of a Renaissance Dubrovnik and for this reason
arch, a splendid gilded panel garden with grottoes and ruins. has been a summer retreat
(Crucifix and Symbols of the There are several Renais sance since the 16th century for its
Evangelists) by Paolo Veneziano summer houses around citizens. Most of the island is
(14th century). Dubrovnik, including the Villa covered in maritime pines and
The various rooms of the Stay in Rijeka Dubrovačka. subtropical undergrowth.
monastery, arranged around
the Gothic cloister by Maso di
Bartolomeo (15th century),
house the Dominican Museum
(Muzej Dominikanskog
samostana). It contains an
extraordinary collection of
works from the so-called
“Dubrovnik school”, including a
triptych and an Annunciation
by Niccolò Ragusino, from the
16th century, and works from
the Venetian school, including
St Blaise, St Mary Magdalene, the
Angel Tobias and the Purchaser
by Titian, as well as precious
reliquaries and objects in gold
and silver. Island of Lokrum in front of Dubrovnik, a protected nature reserve
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp228–30 and pp240–45

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